True growth doesn’t come from ease,it comes when challenges are sustained long enough to awaken our strength.
Here, the Divine Mother is praised as Vishnu Māyā, the sustaining power of the universe. But what does this really mean? Preservation is not only about protecting life, harmony, or goodness. It also means sustaining ignorance, arrogance, and illusion until their role is complete.
Why would the Divine sustain ignorance? Why would darkness be allowed to flourish? The answer lies in the stories we read, which are not just tales of gods and demons but mirrors of our own inner life.
I would like to share a few among many from our sacred scriptures and ancestor's legacy...
Hiranyakashipu’s arrogance grew unchecked. He wanted to be worshipped as God. Why did the Divine allow such tyranny? Because only in his downfall could Prahlada’s devotion shine. His arrogance had to be preserved until its lesson was complete.
Sometimes life allows our pride to go unchecked until we collide with reality. The fall awakens humility.
And in Dwapara Yuga...
Shishupala mocked and insulted Lord Krishna endlessly. Yet, his life was sustained by Vishnu Māyā until the very moment Lord Krishna liberated him. Even hatred was given time.Even his enmity was part of the divine plan.
Every demonic nature in our scriptures whether it was Kamsa, Ravana, or Duryodhana,was sustained by this same Māyā. Their ignorance was not outside the divine order; it was within it. For without darkness, how would light reveal its power? Without arrogance, how would humility shine? Without ignorance, how would knowledge liberate?
In our own lives too, Vishnu Māyā plays this dual role. Sometimes She keeps us blinded, caught in pride, fear, or attachment. At other times, She gently pulls us toward awakening, through pain, failures, and trials. Both are Her gifts. She sustains the illusion until the moment we are ready to break it.
Chanda and Munda symbolize lust and greed. Their desires grew and grew until the Mother, as Chamunda, destroyed them. Their unchecked arrogance had a role,it showed humanity what happens when greed rules.
Our cravings and impulses often run wild. They are sustained until we realize their futility and seek higher fulfillment.
Mahishasura, half-buffalo and half-human, represents brute ego and stubbornness. The Mother sustained his reign long enough for humanity to see the weight of blind ego. Only then was he destroyed.
In us, Our ego is preserved until we learn surrender. It is often the last demon to fall.
Every drop of Raktabeeja’s blood produced another demon. Isn’t this like our negative thoughts? One worry gives birth to a hundred. Vishnu Māyā sustained him until Kali revealed the truth: only divine grace can break the cycle.
Like this, Our negativity multiplies until we surrender it to a higher power. That surrender is the turning point.
Durgama stole the Vedas, thinking wisdom could be possessed. His ignorance was preserved until the Mother restored the Vedas. So, knowledge is not property, it is light to be shared.
When we hoard wisdom with pride, it becomes a burden. True knowledge flows with humility.
From these stories, a profound insight emerges: even ignorance is part of the Divine order. Darkness is preserved only so that light can outshine it. Obstacles are sustained so that inner strength may awaken.
When we bow to the Mother as Vishnu Māyā, we are not only bowing to the power that protects life,we are bowing to the power that sustains our struggles, our ignorance, and even our failures until they lead us to transformation.
if we understand this our perspective on life will change ...
We stop cursing our problems and start asking, “What is this teaching me?”
We stop resisting struggles and start seeing them as Divine Mother’s training ground.
We stop fearing setbacks and start trusting that even they are preserved only until their purpose is complete.
This is not passive acceptance....it is active transformation.
When we repeat,
Mahā Nārāyani
Namas-Tasyai Namas-Tasyai Namas-Tasyai Namo Namah,
we are bowing to the totality of life,the joy, the pain, the clarity, the confusion. All are sustained by the Mother until they ripen into wisdom.
The next time we face a struggle, remember: it is Vishnu Māyā at work. She is not against you. She is shaping you. She is sustaining even your ignorance,only until you are ready to awaken.
And that is the power of this verse. It is not just a hymn,it is a path to self-transformation.
With 💕
Swetha Vishnuchittan
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